PARIS (AFP) - France's opposition Socialists mocked President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday over reports his office asked factory managers to choose short employees to stand behind the diminutive leader during a speech.

The Elysee Palace firmly denied the claim from a union leader, as did the management of the Faurecia car parts plant, but a petite worker told Belgian television that she had been picked so as not to overshadow the president.

On September 3 last week, Sarkozy went to the Faurecia plant in Caligny in Normandy, northern France, in order to defend his economic stimulus policies to workers in an industrial sector badly hit by the global downturn. Speech request

France has a lot of problems with its people spread around so far even on its OWN country. For there are continual riot in southern part of France with some many of those people being from closes parts of North Africa for instance Algeria, Morroco,Tunisa & such. I also think in our time Algeria was ruled by French troops till things went overwrong.

PARIS (AFP) - The Louvre, Notre Dame cathedral, Versailles chateau and a host of other top tourist attractions across France could shut next week due to strike action over planned job cuts, unions warned Friday.

A strike has already kept the landmark Pompidou modern art centre closed to since Monday, and unions have called for workers in museums, monuments and cultural institutes nationwide to down tools from Wednesday.

Strikers want President Nicolas Sarkozy's government to scrap plans to trim state payrolls and reduce the budget deficit by replacing only one out of every two retiring civil servants and reducing cultural subsidies. French museum staff considering strike

The flip-side of all that cultural infrastructure is about operational costs. Finding money to keep the buildings going, staff paid, and provide interesting exhibits and merchandise is a tiring exercise of fundraising and asking government for funds. Capital costs look great during a recession when government provides money for the trades to keep working and build potential tourism attractions.

Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is to be held in French custody until his trial, a judge has ruled. The 76-year old was extradited from the US early on Tuesday and faces 10 years in jail for money laundering. His lawyers had argued that French courts could not try him because he is immune from prosecution as a former head of state.

He was convicted on similar charges in France in his absence in 1999 but will face a new trial. Noriega, who ruled Panama between 1981 and 1989, has spent more than 20 years in prison in the US on drugs charges. He was flown from Miami to Paris after US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton signed a "surrender warrant" on Monday.

Last Updated: July 4, 2010 10:50pmPARIS - Two French junior ministers resigned on Sunday over separate spending scandals, falling on their swords as the government struggles to regain political credibility following a string of embarrassing setbacks.

The twin resignations by Alain Joyandet, state secretary for overseas development, and Christian Blanc, state secretary for the Greater Paris region, appeared to be an attempt by President Nicolas Sarkozy to stamp some authority on his wayward cabinet.

Might be an idea to look up any spending guidelines given to ministries as to which expenses can be claimed at work and which expenses cannot be claimed. Personal use of the cigars (why did the minister order them in the first place?) is fully the user's expense. The bigger spending limits for ministry purchases must have been temptation indeed.

This week in France-President Sarkozy is earning bad optics by the video of police pulling women with babies attached to them from an illegal migrant camp. Camps of such nature are home to people without means to find a regular bricks and mortar residence but they have been in the news for violent incidents amongst its inhabitants or on locals.

The president also has Roma people in the lurch-the group is not recognized as French citizens and they live in rough conditions in home-made structures but live in fear of locals decending upon their homes at night. Given that youths of Roma origin went on a smash and burn spree after a police incident with one of their peers, the crackdown is part of Sarkozy's "get tough" approach. Also, the group has restrictions on them that French people do not have. Roma are like Europe's nomads but they don't get much support from the countries in which they do reside. So what nationalities do they have?

Did France sign any UN accords about protecting human rights? Just asking.

Oh, are we all distracted from the two ministers who resigned from cabinet a few weeks ago?

For those that may not have read the news, French Unions are on strike against the governments plan to raise the retirement age. If you were planning a trip to France in the next few days/weeks you may want to change your plans. Planes can't fly if the fuel isn't getting through . You may get into the country but they have made it difficult for tourists. They are picketing at tourists sites making it difficult to get near any of them. Students are starting to join the unions demonstrations and blockades around schools are giving the students the free time to join in. If the Lorry Drivers aka Truckers join in, then it will help shut the country down.

I am waiting for the next G8 to G20, that is to be held in France, will be at half the cost of what Canada wasted. I hope the French President is true or close to what he said & the light might come on about the waste the Federal Govt wasted in the most recent F8G20 meeting that turned out to be ghastly in the final outcome.

Nothing will be held in France unless they get this strike under control. People are angry and more are joining the protest daily. Sarkozy is determined to shove this down the countrys throat despite the angry reaction from the people.

Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher radioTurn it up, turn it up, so you know, radio

The President has the Palace. Surely there are enough rooms to house the VIPs and entourages. The lawns might take some scuffing for media scrums or powerwall photo opportunities. Maybe a bun toss will ensue but with the economy affecting folks, wasting food to get a point across is not worth the hassle.

Helipad would be useful too--the regular airport can carry on with flights/cargo shipping unless the unions there too are striking.